Cyber Harassment' Bill Off The Table

A bill that would have made it a crime to "harass or annoy" people online has failed to make it past the state legislature's Judiciary Committee.

The committee didn't vote on Senate Bill 456, An Act Concerning Harassment, Electronic Harassment and Cyberstalking, by Monday's deadline.

The American Civil Liberties Union testified against the legislation, arguing that it would have criminalized speech that is protected by the First Amendment. The Connecticut Daily Newspapers Association also opposed the bill, saying it would have exposed news organizations to legal liability simply for accurately reporting news that someone might find embarrassing.

The bill would have prohibited any electronic communication regarding any person that:

• Has a substantial and detrimental effect on that person's physical or mental health;
• Has the effect of substantially interfering with that person's academic performance, employment or other community activities or responsibilities;
• Has the effect of substantially interfering with that person's ability to participate in or benefit from any academic, professional or community-based services, activities or privileges; or
• Has the effect of causing substantial embarrassment or humiliation to that person within an academic or professional community

"The ACLU of Connecticut is as concerned as anyone with protecting those who are threatened or harassed," Sandra Staub, legal director of the ACLU of Connecticut, told the committee last week. But she said the proposed legislation would not have offered any additional protection to crime victims.

"This bill does nothing new besides create a new and powerful way to chill a substantial amount of speech protected by the First Amendment," she said.